No verdict in Dunn case, jurors will be back Friday

The Media compound across Broad Street from the Duval County Courthouse. Members of the media and a small group of protesters wait outside the Duval County Courthouse Thursday morning, February 13, 2014 in anticipation of news from the Jury in the Michael Dunn murder trial in the killing of Jordon Davis. The case went to the jury Wednesday afternoon. (The Florida Times-Union/Bob Self)

Video: Michael Dunn police interview

Dunn explains what happened

Police tell Dunn that Jordan Davis, 17, didn't have a weapon

4:40 p.m. update: Jurors want to know the date that Michael Dunn wrote letters from jail. The one in question was dated June 2013. They return to deliberating. The judge says they’ll go until 6 p.m. unless they get a verdict. Then they’ll come back at 9 a.m. Friday.

4:20 p.m. update: Having not heard from the jury in a couple of hours, the 12 men and women likely are deep in debate. The jury consists of four white men, four white women, two black women, one Hispanic man and one Asian woman. They’ve now had about nine hours of deliberations.

2:30 p.m. update: The jury has asked for a large paper. Jurors will be given full set of jury instructions and something to write on.

2 p.m. update: Jurors have asked the judge if they can see the gray foam mannequin that the medical examiner used to demonstrate how Jordan Davis may have been shot. Judge Russell Healey called for a 15-minute recess while examining whether he can let them see a “demonstrative aid,” not evidence.

Michael Dunn’s attorney, Cory Strolla, said he originally wasn’t going to object to the visual aid, known as “Bendy.” He then said he doesn’t object to it, but he does to the trajectory rods inside the doll.

Healey said that won’t work. He recited cases dealing with “demonstrative aids” given to jurors, including one where both parties agreed but it came up in appeal. He then denied the request saying he wants the jury to only judge evidence, not demonstrative aids, and this wasn’t entered as evidence.

He had a news conference at 11:50 a.m., answering about 20 minutes of questions from reporters.

"In this case, as I've said from day one, I believe it was an overcharge," he said about Dunn being charged with first-degree murder. "I think Mr. Dunn testified and was very straightforward and honest. I think he was the most candid of any witness on that stand."

Strolla looked out at the dozens of reporters before him and told them they wouldn't be there if not for the George Zimmerman case.

He said he believes the same scope of media coverage wouldn’t be seen if not for State Attorney Angela Corey failing to secure a conviction against George Zimmerman, who was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

"I personally believe there is a lot vested in the outcome of this case politically," Strolla said. "I'm not saying that for Ms. Corey, she can speak for herself. My personal belief is that because of the George Zimmerman case, a lot more was focused on this case. Had we never heard about George Zimmerman, I don't think you or I would be standing in this room talking about Mr. Dunn."

He also said the witnesses who testified for the prosecution were a lot more rehearsed than Dunn was, and he thinks the jury recognized this.

Corey had herself and two other prosecuting attorneys question witnesses and present evidence. She also had a number of other staff ready to help in the case.

"Do I think it was fair?" Strolla said. "No. They could've used more."

He also said when he was first hired, he had a weighty task of undoing the work of the first attorney for Dunn, Robin Lemonidis.

"I had to do damage control because of the things that were put out in the media," he said, referring to many interviews she gave, including ones where she talked about Dunn's love for shooting. "We knew this was a clear-cut self-defense case."

He said Dunn's family has struggled throughout the case, and Dunn's father said he couldn't even make it through a written statement without sobbing.

"Mom and Dad can't even talk about it without crying," Strolla said.

Strolla also addressed letters Dunn wrote in jail, including one that said "This jail is full of blacks and they all act like thugs. … This may sound a bit radical, but if more people would arm themselves and kill these — — idiots when they're threatening you, eventually they may take the hint and change their behavior.”

Dunn, who never been in jail, “sat in a jail cell," Strolla said. "He was threatened. He was harassed in jail. It comes to a point where it wore on him. He may have said some things he regrets. He's never been racist. He's never been accused of racism."

Specifically, he said, "That letter was written after an inmate walked by and said he was going to rape Mr. Dunn if he gets a hold of him."

He added, "Nobody from my office or Mr. Dunn brought race into this."

He said he believes a major problem was a lack of proper investigative work by Jacksonville Sheriff's Office detectives.

"The police and the detectives did not investigate what they should've investigated," Strolla said. "To be honest, I think they thought this was just another, typical shooting in Jacksonville, Florida. No offense to you guys in Jacksonville."

He also said that Dunn didn't agree to a civil settlement with the Jordan Davis family that his civil lawyers accepted with Jordan Davis' parents. Strolla said Dunn knew he would be pronounced not guilty, and Dunn didn't want to give any money in a settlement.

Dunn's family has not reached out to the Davis family. But he said, as a parent, he still feels for the family.

"No matter what happens in this case, you still have a young man who is gone," he said.

He said he doesn't know if Rhonda Rouer, his fiancée, still plans to marry Dunn.

"Honestly, I have better things to worry about with Mr. Dunn."

Jurors are now deliberating, and they asked Thursday morning to see video of the inside of the Southside Gate gas station.

Strolla said he took that as a good sign, and the jurors are doing their job and not taking what prosecutors told them at face value.

12:15 p.m. update: Cory Strolla, attorney for Michael Dunn, made himself available to the media for an update. Among the things he said was Rhonda Rouer can’t be expected to remember what Dunn told her because she was so hysterical. Just on the witness stand alone, she demonstrated what an emotional wreck she could be.

Strolla said Dunn is currently in a jail cell behind the courtroom waiting for the jury. Strolla said it’s out of their hands now. He’s in good spirits and holding up under the circumstances. “We have the law, we will prevail,” Strolla said.

He thinks the state tried to exploit that Dunn and his son were basically estranged. He said he hasn’t had to change his strategy from Day 1 that it’s a clear-cut case of self-defense. He blames police for not investigating the case properly. They saw it as another shooting in Jacksonville, he said.

Dunn’s mom and dad are heart broken as are Jordan Davis’ family.

Strolla didn’t want to talk about being out-manned or -resourced by the State Attorney’s Office.

He said nobody in his office or Dunn brought race into this. He said he never identified any witnesses by race or gender, unlike the prosecutors.

Dunn does believe in a subculture, that kids listen to violent lyrics, that they think it’s cool. But it’s not black or white or Hispanic, it’s a person. It’s what Dunn would call a subculture or thug issue, not race, Strolla said. He may have said some things he regrets in jail letters that media reported on, but it was out of emotion.

He compares the attention a lot to the George Zimmerman case, but said they’re still very different.

“I think if the detectives have done their jobs properly, I don’t think this case would have come forward,” Strolla said.

As as a civil lawsuit settlement filed against him by some of the teens’ families, Strolla said Dunn absolutely did not agree to settle it. It wasn’t handled by him. Strolla thinks the families settled before trial in case it’s an acquittal and they get nothing.

He said Dunn’s family was apprehensive to reach out to the Davis family in case it made matters worse.

11:30 a.m. update: Michael Dunn’s attorney, Cory Strolla, will be having a news briefing within the hour. He likely will reiterate his case. The State Attorney’s Office has previously said it will have following the verdict.

11 a.m. update: Jurors continue to deliberate and haven’t come out with any new questions for the judge. A verdict is unlikely before lunch. Dozens of media are awaiting eagerly as are so many people who have been following this online, in the newspaper and on TV.

The Jacksonville jury deciding Michael Dunn’s fate began its second day of deliberations Thursday by looking at video of the Southside Gate gas station where the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Jordan Davis occurred.

Jurors asked to see the security video of the inside of the convenience store Wednesday night but said they would wait until Thursday morning to view it. The video shows people inside the store reacting to the gunfire in the parking lot on Black Friday in 2012.

There were no video cameras in the parking lot itself. So Davis’ shooting was not recorded.

Prosecutors said Wednesday there is about 20 minutes of footage. A laptop and computer screen were brought into the jury room so jurors could watch the video as many times as they liked.

Portions of the video were shown during trial. People inside the store, including Dunn’s fiancee, are seen jumping when they hear the gunshots and then racing to the windows to see what happened.

The jury has not indicated how far along they are in deliberations. They deliberated close to three hours into Wednesday evening after closing statements and juror instructions.

Dunn shot Davis after the two argued about the loud music coming from the sport-utility vehicle Davis was in with three friends. He said it was self-defense because Davis had a gun and was advancing on him.

The other teenagers in the SUV and witnesses at the scene said Davis didn’t have a gun and never got out of his car. Officials with the Medical Examiner’s Office also said Davis was sitting when the fatal bullet hit him.

Dunn is charged with the first-degree murder of Davis, the attempted murder of the three other teenagers and shooting a deadly missile. He would get life in prison if convicted of all charges.

The Times-Union will be updating this story as new information becomes available.

Dunn's attorney didn't need to point out Dunn was overcharged. Everyone who lives in Duval County knows she would ask for the Death Penalty or Life in Prison for "jay walking" if she could get away with it. Mr. Strolla's practice in Melbourne probably doesn't have to deal with the likes of prosecutors like Angela Corey and had his eyes opened to the fact that "overcharging" tactics in Duval County is not just par for the course but demanded by AC.

Agree with tinman. Justice isn't about winning or losing. It's a system, our system, of applying the law of the land to seek a fair outcome. It's designed to err on the side of the accused. Sometimes, we don't agree with the outcome. Sometimes we do. Either way, we're required to accept and respect the process. I'm not smart enough to know what really happened in this case. So I won't pray for justice for Michael Dunn, and I won't pray for justice for Jordan Davis. I'll just pray for justice.

Thank you, tinman. This was a tragedy. Anyone looking for bragging rights has a serious problem. May the jury have the wisdom to reach the proper verdict.

BTW, does anyone remember a case from about 20 years ago in Jacksonville? A black man's home was attacked with rocks by a white youth. If memory serves, the black man followed the white youth down the street and shot him. He was either acquitted or not even charged. There were no riots, no "white panthers" spouting threats.

When bad-acting people meet other bad-acting people, bad things sometimes happen. It's not always easy for the law to sort it out, as it is when you have a thug (any race) who attacks an innocent person. Tragically, even then the law is sometimes inadequate or just wrong.

Solution: don't be a POS, or as a great person once said, treat others the way you want to be treated. Amazingly simple. If Davis hadn't been a *****, none of this would have happened. If Dunn had tolerated the ***** and not grabbed a gun, he would be sitting at the beach writing computer code and making a living.

Having occasionally been a ***** myself, I have learned that it's better not to be one, even if it involves sometimes walking away knowing I've been "wronged" a little bit. Sometimes, discretion really is the better part of valor. Real life is not always like the movies.

TryingNotCrying - what would they "lose"? Are they being tried for something? That mentality of Us-vs-Them is exactly what has divided this country and community. Disgreeing with you should not make someone the enemy. As for bigotry, you hold the record for biased and discriminatory comments in here.

Regardless of the verdict, they don't lose anything and you don't win anything.